The co-defendant in the sexual assault trial testified Wednesday that former Weissport police chief Brent Getz had assaulted the victim, at least once.

Gregory Wagner Jr., 31, of Lehighton, testified for almost two hours in the trial of Getz, 30, of Lehighton, who has been charged with rape of a child and related offenses.

In November 2021 Wagner pleaded guilty to rape of a child, felony 1, and sexual exploitation of children, felony 2.

Wagner, who has been an inmate in the county prison since his arrest on March 2019, said he entered into a plea agreement with the Attorney General’s office in exchange for his cooperation in the prosecution of Getz. The agreement allowed charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child and indecent assault of a child, to be dropped. A state prison term of 10 to 20 years was part of the agreement.

Wagner told the jury that he admitted his criminal acts when he was arrested and he implicated Getz.

He said they were childhood friends who spent time together before a disagreement ended the friendship. He said Getz would come over to his home once a week or more to play video games.

During one of the visits he said he and Getz sexually assaulted the victim. He said it occurred only once with Getz, but admitted he had sexually assaulted the girl over years on a weekly basis. He said before one of Getz’s visits he told him what he was doing with the young female victim.

His testimony that Getz only had sexual contact with the victim once was in conflict with testimony the victim gave on Tuesday. The victim, now 21, said Getz had sexually assaulted her “five or six times.” She said the assaults began when she was about 6.

Wagner said after Getz was arrested, Getz told him not to say anything about him and he would take care of one of Wagner’s elderly relative.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Brian Collins, Wagner admitted he got a “pretty good deal” in his plea agreement. Collins said the rape of a child charge has a possible 20- to 40-year sentence. He also said if the other charges were added, and the terms run consecutively, Wagner could have ended up serving 53 to 117 years in prison.

Collins said, “You got a pretty good deal and you knew it.”

Collins also questioned Wagner about when he learned that Getz was going to get the police chief position in Weissport and inferred that may have influenced his implicating him.

Collins also questioned Wagner about several statements he made to investigators where he said Getz was “the person he least respected.”

Collins asked because of his feelings toward Getz, if he decided to throw Getz “under the bus” in testifying against him.

Wagner said yes, however, under redirect questioning by prosecutor Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Anne Elo, he said he was not lying on the stand about the sexual assault incident with Getz.

Other witnesses

• Tammy Neff, a counselor for the Victims Resource Center, interviewed the victim in 2013 after she had been taken to the Children’s Advocacy Center in Scranton.

The victim previously claimed Neff told her it was better not to mention Getz that because it would not help in the Wagner case. Neff denied that.

• Franklin Township Police Officer Frank W. Buonaiuto took over the case in 2013 when the initial officer assigned the case in 2012, went on medical leave.

He said in 2018 he called the victim and asked her to come to the station. She did and he asked her if she wanted to file charges. She said she did.

During an interview with the victim she mentioned Getz as an abuser.

He said he prepared a complaint, got approval from the district attorney’s office, and filed it. However, the complaint was returned by the district judge office because there was a problem with some of the charges not matching up with statutes.

Buonaiuto said the victim returned to the station later and said she wanted to drop the charges, saying members of her family did not want her to have charges filed.

The Attorney General’s office took over the case.

• Sean McGlinn, a special agent for the AG’s office, searched the home where the assaults occurred and said there were two suspects in the case, Wagner and Getz.

He said Getz said, “I can’t admit to something I didn’t do.”

• Special Agent Daniel Block, one of the officers who took Getz into custody, said Getz was told why he was being arrested and he responded, “Oh my gosh, I’m going to jail.”

• Dr. Barbara Ziv, a forensic psychiatrist who specializes in sexual assault cases, explained how victims of sexual assaults react and hesitate about coming forward to report the assaults. She said 85 percent of sexual assault cases involve people who are known to the victim.

She also said many times when a victim does come forward to report an incident at a young age, the adults involved dismiss the allegation as a lie or made up.

Case history

The investigation began in May 2012 after ChildLine, Children and Youth Services, received a complaint that an 11-year-old child reported that when she was left alone with Wagner, he touched her inappropriately, and the child was afraid. She also reported years later that she had been repeatedly raped by Wagner and Getz several times a week, starting when she was very young. At the time of the rapes, Getz and Wagner would both have been teenagers.

Judge Joseph J. Matika is presiding.

The case was scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. today.